This indestructible Xiaomi Mi5 phone can survive a drill attack
Try this at home, kids (or maybe not).
It seems that phones are so durable these days that they can withstand just
about anything.
Xiaomi's Mi5 looks virtually indestructible, going by one YouTube user's
demonstration.
Alex Wang posted a video to the site to scratch test the recently launched
smartphone. Taking knives, files and even a saw to the device with no scratch,
he then went all out with a drill.
However, still no damage done it appears, as the Mi5's ceramic back still comes
out with virtually no scratches.
Maybe don't try this one at home.
As great as it looks, the Mi5 is only available in China for the moment.
The company has launched an online store in the US, UK, France and Germany -
but it only sells accessories.
It's official: Twitter, Facebook & YouTube have been banned by North Korea
And they've also ended access to all South Korean websites.
Planning a trip to North Korea anytime soon? Well, you now won't be able to use
some of your main social media accounts there.
The country has announced that it is officially banning Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube and all South Korean sites.
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications made the announcement this week in
a move to highlight its worry over the spread of online information.
Although few North Koreans have internet access, with some able to access a
government-sanctioned intranet, foreigners had previously been able to browse
with little restriction.
The move will inevitably make it more difficult to spread information about the
country to the outside world.
The government is also banning gambling and "sex and adult" websites over a
"certain period of time" (via The AP).
Facebook and Twitter have been informally banned for a while, but the new
statement says that anyone who tries to hack these sites, access them in an
"improper" way or distribute "anti-republic data" will be punished.
There are similar restrictions in neighbouring China, which bans sites that it
considers politically sensitive.
What a joke! Google forced to apologise as April Fools' Day prank spectacularly
backfires
And it was all down to those pesky Minions.
There's always one person who goes too far with their April Fools' Day prank -
only this year, that someone was Google.
The company has now turned off its joke "mic drop" feature for Gmail users
after it monumentally backfired and resulted in a mass of complaints - with
some users apparently even losing jobs because of it.
In short, the "Gmail Mic Drop" added a special send button that integrated a
GIF of a Minion from Despicable Me dressed as the Queen dropping a microphone.
It indicated that the conversation was over - hence the microphone being
dropped.
However, the button was placed right next to the traditional send button used
in the compose windows on browsers, which users could easily click by accident.
The company had informed people about the feature beforehand, saying:
"Everyone will get your message, but that's the last you'll ever hear about
it."
Nevertheless, a number of people sent the GIF accidentally, one writer
complaining on a product forum that they were on a deadline when they
inadvertently clicked it, which led to them losing the job.
"I sent my articles to my boss and never heard back from her. I inadvertently
sent the email using the 'Mic Drop' send button," they explained.
"There were corrections that needed to be made on my articles and I never
received her replies.
"My boss took offence to the Mic Drop animation and assumed that I didn't reply
to her because I thought her input was petty (hence the Mic Drop).
"I just woke up to a very angry voicemail from her which is how I found out
about this 'hilarious' prank."
A number of other users complained that it affected their work, one writing on
a help forum: "April fools jokes are great fun but not when they affect my
business correspondence."
Google has since responded: "Well, it looks like we pranked ourselves this year.
"Due to a bug, the MicDrop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than
laughs. We're truly sorry. The feature has been turned off. If you are still
seeing it, please reload your Gmail page."
This was not Google's only prank this year, having also revealed an "Actual
Reality" headset - a transparent box strapped to your face - and a parachute
delivery service.
